Children of the Frozen Skies
by Tears of a Spirit
Summary: When a catastrophe separates a pair of siblings and dragons take the two in, the wheels of fate begin to spin. Years go by as Winston Marvell continues to search for his father and sister; but when he gets in over his head, he must pay the price. As he fights for the lives of his family and friends, the demons of the past resurface to do battle with the angels of the future.
1. Chapter 1

**Child of Frozen Skies**

It was nearing the evening as the Frost Dragon, Valstrath, flew into the teeth of a blizzard, ignoring the biting cold and sting of ice. Frosty mist drifted from his nostrils as he took a deep breath and grinned. He was in his element. He was _home_. He quickly alighted at the peak of Mt. Takayama and sniffed the air again. He recoiled from the scent almost immediately. He was sure that the scent hadn't been there when he first returned. He smelled something… unnatural. The scent brought a perplexing image to mind.

Something likes a human that sprouted wings and managed to take to the skies. Valstrath's eyes widened.

"_Is that…" _he thought.

Just then a huge shadow passed over the mountain and Valstrath barely managed to get out of sight, all the while berating himself for being so cowardly.

"_Acnologia!" _he thought as a roar from the black dragon shattered the silence that blanketed Mt. Takayama.

Valstrath's eyed the spot where his wings connected to his body.

"One good blow... I can bring him down." he mumbled to himself.

Frosty magic built up in his wings but just as he was about to release it, the black dragon roared again and disappeared into a vortex of black energy. Valstrath only hovered and watched as his adversary flew away. A snarl escaped his lips as he beat wings a few times to dissipate the magic.

Valstrath slowly circled the mountain a few times to make sure that Acnologia really was gone, and flew back into his cave. Bowing his head, he crawled into the cave when a small movement caught his eye. A small boy with brown hair lay curled up against one of the stones near back of the cave. Valstrath padded over and sniffed the boy, gently blowing away the strands of hair that covered his face.

The boy just sneezed and tried to get up, rubbing his eyes as he did so. Valstrath found himself peering into deep blue eyes. The child just looked up at him in wonder and awe before scratching his head confusedly.

"Um… Mr. Dragon? Have you seen my sister anywhere around here? She's kind of small and has blue hair."

The frost dragon lowered his head down to the boy's eye level.

"I'm afraid I haven't, little one. No one passes by these mountains much. Perhaps you are in the wrong place."

The boy pouted. "I thought for sure she would be here. We always loved the snow and the sky. What would be a better place to get closer to the two?"

Valstrath chuckled, a deep rumbling sound that echoed throughout the cave. "So full of life, little one. If only there were more like you. Now, I think it's time to get you home. Maybe your sister is with your parents."

The boy just tilted his head inquisitively and cocked one of his eyebrows.

"H-Home?" he asked.

Valstrath swung his head around until his eye was level with the boy. "Yes. Home. Your parents must be worried."

The boy just frowned and spoke in a quiet voice. "I have no home anymore. My village… it's gone."

Valstrath snorted in surprise and shock. "What of your parents, little one?"

The boy looked out the cave's entrance. "My mommy used to tell me stories about grandma. She said that she went somewhere far away and she was watching us. Maybe mommy and daddy went there too?"

The dragon hummed in approval and murmured to himself. "You are an interesting little human… Perhaps it's time for me to choose a slayer like Igneel, Grandeeney, and Metalicana have."

The boy looked up at Valstrath. "What?"

The silver dragon didn't say anything, just padded towards the back of the cave and tore one of the crystals from the wall.

"Take this as a token of our meeting, little one. If you so choose, I will teach you the ways of the dragons. And you will be known as a mage among mages: A Dragon Slayer."

The little boy smiled sadly up at Valstrath and held out his hand while the dragon dropped the glowing crystal into his hands.

"I wish my sister were here to see this."

Valstrath smiled warmly and nudged the little boy's forehead. "I'm sure she's fine. There's nothing you can do now but get stronger to go look for her one day."

The boy looked up from rolling the crystal back and forth, and smiled at Valstrath.

"Winston. Winston Marvell. My name is Winston Marvell. What's yours?"

" Valstrath Silverstorm. Now get some rest. You have a long day ahead of you." the dragon said.

Winston only grumbled a bit and crawled underneath Valstrath's wing. The dragon raised an eyebrow in surprise. In the end, he just let out a snort of amusement and settled down next to the boy.

"Uh… Valstrath?" a small voice called out.

"Hm?" The dragon opened a silver eye and peered at the child that sat up underneath his wing, lifting the thin membrane so he could see the dragon's head.

"Will you be my dad?" he asked, eyes wide with hope.

Valstrath smiled wryly and blew a puff of air into Winston's face, making him giggle. "Yes. Now stop asking stupid questions and go to sleep."

Winston just yawned and crawled back underneath his wing. "Goodnight."

The frost dragon just curled around the boy and smiled contentedly.

"Goodnight… son."

* * *

-July 5, X777-

To say Valstrath was twitchy was already the understatement of the year. First of all, the Dragon Council had called a mandatory meeting, which hadn't happened in the last fifty years or so. And leaving a 12-year-old dragon slayer to his own devices while he attended this god-forsaken meeting hadn't exactly been the best idea.

So in every possible and conceivable way, Valstrath had every reason to be twitchy. And yes, he had every reason to scratch his scales off if he so choose.

A 12-year-old dragon slayer.

Alone.

True, he had charmed the cave with some of his own brand of dragon magic to repel intruders and keep Winston inside while he was gone, but dragon slayers were notorious for the amounts of destruction they could cause. And leaving one like Winston by himself just spelled the recipe for disaster. He was seriously considering abandoning the meeting when a pale

dragon alighted next to him.

"Hello 'strath." Grandeeney said.

"Hmph. Whaddaya want?" he responded.

Grandeeney just chuckled. "Touchy, touchy. Say, what's happened? You're usually one of the quietest dragons at these meetings. What's gotten you in such a tizzy?"

Valstrath just gnashed his teeth and impatiently scratched at the stone floor of the mountain that had served as their meeting place for the last several millennia.

"Have you ever met a human that you didn't want to kill at first sight?"

The frost dragon stiffened. A couple of months ago, he wouldn't have given much thought about killing a human. But then Winston had come along and busted down the doors of his heart. He was just so bright, and even though that light sometimes dimmed when he thought about his family or his sister, he was just was Valstrath needed.

"So the icy Valstrath does have a heart."

Valstrath didn't say anything, just sat there and tried to listen to whatever the elders were saying.

"Besides, I don't know why dragons and humans can't coexist. Humans aren't really so bad."

Valstrath just shot her an amused look before something the elders mentioned something that nearly froze his blood.

"Now, on to more important matters. The council has decided that we as a race will withdraw from the world on the night of July 7, X777. Acnologia has become too powerful and we must preserve ourselves in order to ensure the survival of our race."

There were shouts of surprise and confusion from many of the dragons. Valstrath included.

The frost dragon's eyes widened and he very nearly lost his cool. Winston. Leave Winston? The very thought shook Valstrath to the core. The slayer was well into learning the secret arts, but as powerful as he was, he was still too young to live on his own.

The protests continued for a while before the golden dragon shouted again. "This situation is non-negotiable. Do you not remember the power of the Black Dragon? Zirconis planned to ambush and crush the Dragon King with the power of a thousand dragons. But not one of them escaped alive save for the King himself. This is a not power we can hope to match."

Valstrath thought back to his earlier encounter with Acnologia and recalled the pure chaotic maliciousness that seemed to radiate off the beast.

Somehow, Valstrath managed to catch the eye the dragon standing on the platform.

"Valstrath seems to know what is at stake here. Meeting adjourned." the golden dragon said with a smirk.

The silver dragon's eyes narrowed before settling for a snarl. Bidding farewell to Grandeeney, he skyrocketed upwards and out of the mountain.

The remaining dragons followed suit and began to fly off in different directions. Valstrath just flapped his wings with all his strength and sped towards Mt. Takayama.

Another presence fell into pace beside him and Valstrath shot a quick glance over his shoulder.

The red dragon snarled. "What do you think of this… exile the Council is imposing upon us?"

"I don't know what to think, Igneel. I was merely there as an observer. You however, are on the council. Why don't you tell me about what went into the choice?"

Igneel scoffed. "The council… they're all spineless fools. They hope to save the dragon race by exiling all of us and pitting our very lives on the gamble that Acnologia will die a natural death. And we both know that the Black Dragon is anything but natural."

Valstrath snorted. "2 days left. What are you going to do? Raze some villages? Burn some crops?"

Igneel said nothing got a faraway look in his eyes and Valstrath swore he could see a softer emotion within the usually blustering and fiery dragon.

The frost dragon and the fire dragon flew along in silence for many miles before the weather started to cool.

Igneel glanced at Valstrath. "Farewell, my friend. Until we meet again. May the wind rise beneath your wings and the sun always be at your back."

Valstrath nodded in return. "And yours as well."

The frost dragon continued to fly as Igneel peeled off and flew back to his forests. As he neared his mountain, however, the temperature began to plummet and snow pelted his scales. Valstrath narrowed his eyes. It wasn't even supposed to be this cold during this time of year.

As he neared the entrance of the cave, he saw Winston standing out in the open with his arms outstretched and his eyes screwed shut. The winds and ice bent to his will and swirled with the force of a powerful gale.

Valstrath alighted on the rocky outcropping just as the Slayer dropped his arms down to his side and heaved a deep breath. "Winston! What were you doing?!"

Winston's eyes slowly opened and he grinned at Valstrath. "Practicing. What does it look like?"

The frost dragon just shook his head in exasperation. "While I appreciate the fact that you are, I seem to recall telling you that no magic was to be used while I was away."

Winston scratched his chin. "True."

The dragon just nodded towards the cave. "Come on. It's getting late. You have a long day ahead of you, since you're so eager to train."

Winston just laughed and darted into the cave. Valstrath's smile faded as he watched the boy hurry to his usual sleeping space near the back of the cave.

"_2 more days…"_

* * *

When that night finally came, Valstrath could only look upon Winston's sleeping form and remember all the times that they shared; days playing in the snow, training, and learning new magic. Now, he could only hold on to the memories of that time.

He blew a soft puff of air into the boy's face and watched him smile and curl up contentedly.

"Valstrath. It's time."

The dragon slowly walked to the mouth of the cave and looked up. There, shrouded against the stars and clouds, were Igneel and Grandeeney.

Valstrath said nothing and flew up to meet them. He just gave a curt nod of acknowledgement to the two.

As they turned and flew off, Grandeeney took note of his silence.

"Something's bothering you." She phrased it as more of a statement than a question.

Valstrath just swung his head and eyed the Sky Dragon, who had a sympathetic look in her eyes.

"I could say the same about you. No matter. Let's go."

As the trio of dragons flew on, Valstrath's thoughts turned once more to the little slayer he was leaving behind.

Back at the cave, Winston clutched a piece of paper in his sleep. The words on the paper and the thoughts of a dragon were the same.

"_Grow strong, Winston. Believe in your friends and family, and they will be your rock."_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Two teenagers walked along a cobblestone road, one with brown hair and the other with pink. The pink haired teenager stretched out his arms and yawned while the brown-haired boy just glanced at his companion through the side of his eye.

"Oi. Natsu. I don't think Igneel's here." the brown-haired boy said, sniffing the air with his nose.

Natsu turned towards the brown-haired teenager. "Come on, Winston. We're on a job. Might as well look while we're at it. Besides, don't act like you don't wanna find your pops too."

Winston shook his head in exasperation. "Let's just do our thing and get outta here. I'm getting sick looking at all these boats."

Natsu glanced out at the port and nearly hurled on the spot. Winston smacked him upside the head. "I didn't ask you to look, flamebrain. You should know better than that."

"Whatever, frostbite."

Winston pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and let out a frustrated sigh. "It said in the description that we're looking for some sort of terrorist. But descriptions of the guy aren't clear. I wonder why…"

Natsu nodded. "Eh, we should split up. We'll be able to find out more that way. Meet back here in say… three hours?"

Winston shrugged. "That works. Try not to get yourself into too much trouble. Oh. One more thing. Don't forget to get Happy some fish."

Natsu waved dismissively. "Aye, sir!"

Winston watched as Natsu continued on before walking down another branch of the road and down into a dark alleyway.

A warm, dry wind blew past him and ruffled his hair. A look behind told Winston that a newcomer had entered the alleyway after him. Red eyes shone out from under a shaggy mane of black hair.

"Winston Marvell. I thought I smelled scum." the newcomer sneered.

Winston slowly took his hands out of his pockets and let his hands dangle loosely at his sides. "I didn't come here to fight, Keio. But if it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get."

"You're a traitor! Nothing more! And you'll _never_ be anything more!" the ruby eyed mage shouted as he rushed Winston, a purple tinged darkness cloaking his hand and a magic circle of the same color spinning at the tips of his fingers.

"Fallen Angel's Black Fist!"

"Though, it might be one of your dumber decisions to fight me of all people." he mumbled to himself as he slammed his fists together and saw his ice blue magic circle flare to life before his eyes, a dragon's head glaring out at Keio from the center.

"Frost Dragon's Slash." Winston calmly intoned.

Keio kept on coming and the brown-haired mage carefully gauged the distance between the two of them. When he got within striking distance, Winston lashed out with a clawed hand coated with icy energy and slammed it into his opponent's chest, sending him flying into the wall.

"You… Vulcan spawned demon dung!" Keio shouted as he struggled back to his feet.

"Do you really want to fight me? I've already proven that I'm more than a match for you."

"Shut UP!" he cried and tried to rush Winston again, executing a series of feints and landing a few punches to Winston's face before getting blown back by another slash. Keio quickly shook off the second attack and thrust an arm forward, dark energy wrapping around his fist and arm as his dark purple magic circle flared to life again.

"Chaos Art: Fallen Archangel's Piercing Spearhead!"

A glowing purple lance took form from the darkness around his fist and Keio charged forward as Winston crossed his forearms in an X formation in front of his body.

"Frost Dragon's Scales!"

Keio rapidly closed the distance as Winston strained to speed up the formation of his magic. Ice blue scales had just finished closing off the rest his body as Keio closed the last steps and rammed the glowing lance into the Frost Dragon Slayer's stomach. Winston was blown back several feet and hit the ground with a _crunch_.

Stars faded in and out of the slayer's vision as he hauled himself to his feet and casually wiped away the blood from the corner of his mouth. His scales had taken the brunt of the blow and shattered. Bits and pieces of it lay on the ground. Winston turned to glare at Keio in disdain as he shed the rest of the scales, which were useless because of the hole right in the middle.

"Back down. You're beginning to annoy me. And I can and will bat you out of the sky like the little insect you are."

Keio panted, having used up too much energy in that advanced magic attack. "You call yourself a Dragon Slayer, supposedly taught by a real dragon. If you're going to lie, at least make up a believable story. Dragons never existed!"

Something snapped in Winston and a cold wind began to whip up in the alley. The Frost Dragon Slayer's ice blue eyes glowed with barely restrained power.

"You're just asking to be smeared against the wall, aren't you? Continue, and there won't be enough left of you for the Rune Knights to find."

Keio scoffed. "As if I hadn't heard that one-"

"Roar of the Frost Dragon!"

The rest of his sentence trailed off abruptly as Winston suddenly streaked forward and let loose his point-blank breath attack to his face, sending him flying. As he hit the wall, chunks of rock and glass rained down on him.

Keio struggled get up and he felt ice beginning to freeze the insides of his nose. With every breath, he felt the ice beginning to spread into his chest.

Winston stood over his downed opponent, his expression deceiving calm. Icy wind blew about his hair and his icy blue eyes seemed to glow. His anger was only belied by his tense stance and clenched fists. He slowly raised a fist that glowed with icy energy and drew back, preparing to deal a punishing blow before a ghost of a voice whispered to him from the recesses of his memories.

* * *

"_Winston, please…. Don't kill anymore. Can you do that? For the girl who loves you?"_

* * *

Winston stopped before slowly lowering his fist and letting it drop to his side, the icy energy dissipating.

"Tell me. I know the guild master sent you. What does he want?"

Keio wheezed and coughed. "He told me to bring you back. Whether or not you were willing to come was irrelevant."

Winston narrowed his eyes. "He knows very well that I do not intend to be taken by force either. Take this message back to the guild master: No."

Winston knelt next to the fallen mage and delivered a swift blow to the side of his jaw, quickly knocking him unconscious. And as an afterthought, he placed a hand over Keio's closed eyes and concentrated, drawing in the ice that had begun to freeze his lungs before continuing down the alleyway.

People shot dark glances and glares his way, but no one dared to attempt anything. Soon enough, Winston found himself in front of a battered door. He pushed his way through and gave a nod of acknowledgment to the bartender who tossed him a pair of keys and gestured up the stairs before going back to cleaning the tankard he had was holding.

He trudged up the stairs and walked past several rooms before turning to unlock a door to his right.

"I'm surprised to see you back so soon. I thought you left the life." a voice said from inside.

"I did. But that doesn't mean that I'll stop using the resources that I've learned to use. You should know that better than anyone, Crow."

Crow leaned against the bed post, a cigar in his mouth and a dagger between his fingers.

"You got that right. The problem is: can you pay?"

Winston said nothing and just tossed a sack on to the ground where it landed with a heavy _thud_.

Crow arched an eyebrow curiously and stopped twirling the knife. He cautiously grabbed the bag and undid the drawstring.

As he opened it, his eyes widened. "I-Is this what I think it is?!"

He reached inside and pulled out its contents.

"Red bean buns!" Crow exclaimed before quickly devouring the first of many.

Winston shook his head in amusement and pulled out the job request flyer. He smoothed it out on his pants before handing it to Crow.

"I need to know everything that has to do with this guy. He's a terrorist of some sort but no one seems to recognize his appearance."

Crow munched on another bun and squinted at the paper in befuddlement before looking up with a smirk.

"You'll be looking for Bora. Bora the Prominence. He was once a member of the Titan's Nose guild but he got kicked out for using his magic to help thieves. He's been known to use charm magic and stuff like that to get people to feed his reputation. He's also a fire magic user. But I don't know why he would be labeled a terrorist. Maybe a minor blue blooded bigot, but a terrorist?"

Winston scratched his chin thoughtfully. "I get the feeling that we're missing something here…"

Crow shook the hair out of his eyes. "I do too. But don't think about to too much. There are more important matters at hand. You know that your guild master is hell-bent on getting you back, right?"

Winston scowled. "He's not my guild master. Not anymore. And I know. I ran into Keio on the way here."

"Oh. Keio? Your old partner?"

Winston nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, watch yourself. If the guild master wants you back this badly, things of suspicious origin are gonna start hitting the fan real fast."

Winston snorted and turned to leave. "Thank you for your concern."

Crow just waved cheerily. "No. Thank _you _for the buns!"

Winston strode to the window and heaved it open. He quickly looked behind him and tossed Crow the keys.

"Give those back to the bartender, will you?"

Crow just nodded and continued munching on the buns as Winston leaped out of the window and into the alley.

He walked out of the alleyway with his head bowed and nearly ran headlong into Natsu. The latter spun around and got up in Winston's face.

"Watch where you're going, moron!"

"Speak for yourself flamebrain!"

"You- huh? Winston? Where'd you come from?"

The brown-haired mage shook his head. "Nowhere. Now let's get going. We're looking for someone named Bora the Prominence."

Natsu shot Winston an incredulous look. "Wait, how do you know that?"

"Don't ask. I just have my ways."

Natsu stared at Winston for a moment and just shrugged. "Whatever. So we just have to find this Bora guy, and arrest him."

"Pretty much." Winston replied.

Natsu's eyes narrowed at Winston and leaned in close before forcefully poking him the face.

"Ow! You little son of a gecko! What the hell was that for?!" Winston shouted.

"Oi! Igneel's not a gecko! And you've got bruising and –is that blood?"

Winston quickly rubbed away the red droplets from the corner of his mouth. Natsu sighed and shook his head ruefully.

"You tell me to keep out of trouble and you go and get yourself beat up."

The brown-haired mage scoffed and batted away Natsu's poking fingers. "As if. My opponent got off much worse than me."

Natsu just shrugged. "Whatever. But now, we've got a name. Anything on what he looks like?"

Winston shook his head. "Nothing. Charm magic confuses the mind. And we're all very, very confused."

They continued to walk down the crowded street and Winston winced in discomfort as the occasional passerby nudged one of his wounds.

When they passed a gaggle of girls surrounding a purple haired mage, Natsu accidentally knocked a blonde haired girl over as she was walking towards the group.

Winston rubbed his temples in mild discomfort and glared disdainfully at the screaming crowd. As Natsu helped the girl to her feet she exploded into thanks, startling both mages.

"Woah, hold up. Why the hell are you thanking me?" Natsu asked confusedly, scratching his head.

"That wizard over there, he's a user of charm magic. When you bumped into me, you snapped me out of its spell. I'd hate to think about what might have happened to me if I was still under it."

Natsu looked over at the guy, who clearly had the entire crowd eating out of his hand. He and cracked his knuckles and cracked his neck. "Charm magic, huh?"

The blonde haired girl nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

As Natsu began to step forward, Winston thrust his arm out in front of him, his face as impassive as the wall of a glacier. "Not yet. Not now."

"But-"

"Natsu. Just listen to me for now."

Natsu grumbled and folded his arms. "You and that red-haired demon. Always ruining my fun."

Winston only cast an amused glance at the grumbling fire dragon slayer and turned his attention to the blonde haired woman.

"I apologize. My name is Winston Marvell. And this knucklehead is Natsu Dragneel."

"Oi! I'm right here you know!"

The blonde haired woman laughed. "My name is Lucy Heartfilia. Let me treat you guys to lunch. You did help me out back there."

Natsu immediately perked up at the mention of food and his mouth began to water. Winston just sighed in exasperation and motioned for Lucy to lead the way.

* * *

As soon as the food arrived, Natsu dived in with the eagerness of a pig. Winston calmly picked at his rice and pushed his food around, not really having an appetite with his bruised stomach.

"So. Are you two brothers?" Lucy asked.

The two teens froze and looked at each other before breaking into a hysterical fit of laughter.

"Wh-What makes you say that?" Natsu said between bouts of laughter.

"Well Winston looks like he's always keeping you from doing stupid things, like an older brother would do. And you seem like the hyperactive little brother." Lucy said indignantly.

Winston shook his head and took shaky breath. "No. We're not brothers. But in many ways, we're still a family. We happened to lose our fathers at the same time, so when we met we started looking after each other."

Lucy just nodded understanding and continued eating before speaking up again.

"Have you guys ever heard of Fairy Tail?"

Winston and Natsu just smirked inwardly. "Yeah. Of course. Why?"

Lucy just smiled and picked at her food. "They're awesome, aren't they? I might not look like it, but I'm a mage too. A Celestial Spirit mage, really. And I really want to join Fairy Tail too. They have a lot of great and powerful mages! There's Erza Titania and The Demon Mirajane! And then they've got the duo of the Salamander and Maelstrom. No one knows too much about those two though…"

"Wait. You're a Celestial Spirit Mage?" Winston asked.

Lucy nodded. "I'm very proud of it too. My most powerful spirit is Aquarius. It's one of the golden zodiac keys."

Natsu just gulped down the rest of his food and smiled in contentment. "Sounds interesting. Thanks for the lunch, but we'll be going now. We've still got some errands to run."

Winston tossed some money on the table and got up. "It was nice meeting you. Hope to see you again."

Lucy smiled at him and nodded before leaving her payment on the table. "I hope so too."

Winston and Natsu walked out of the little restaurant feeling slightly more energized and alert. Winston moved to stretch, but then a lance of pain shot through his side and he doubled over. Natsu was at his side immediately.

"Hey. You alright?"

Winston said nothing and quickly walked into another alleyway before lifting up his cloak and shirt. Where Keio had struck him had turned a mottled black and blue and felt extremely tender to the touch.

Natsu followed Winston into the alleyway and whistled. "Man. Whoever you fought sure did a number on you. You might wanna get that to Porlyusica."

Winston hissed in pain. "Porlyusica's out for the rest of the week. You know that."

Natsu blinked in confusion. "I do?"

Winston rolled his eyes. "She told us right before the job. 'Try not to get injured. I won't be around.'"

Natsu just laughed. "Yeah, yeah. I still don't remember but Mirajane knows some rudimentary healing right?"

"Yeah. It's good that we have someone who knows how to heal when the dragon lady isn't there." Winston said, readjusting his cloak and shirt.

Natsu winced. "If she heard you say that, you'll be dead."

"Whatever. She isn't here now, is she?" But even as he said that, he nervously checked his surroundings for any sign of the temperamental healer.

Natsu shrugged and leaned against the wall, resting his head against the cool stone. "We know who Bora is now. But what are we gonna do about it?"

Winston shrugged. "Nothing for now. We can't make our move until we have proof that something's going on. We don't even know if that guy in the crowd is Bora. Sure, they both use charm magic. But that particular brand of magic is really widespread, illegal or not."

Natsu nodded and scratched his chin thoughtfully. "I suppose you're right."

"All we can do is stay here, and wait."

* * *

Night fell and two slayers idly sat in the patio of a restaurant's dining area. The moon reflected off the water, sending sparkles of light dancing across the different buildings.

Winston impatiently drummed his fingers on the table with a frown etched on his face as he glance out at sea, pointedly avoiding looking at the rocking boats.

A laugh came from somewhere behind Winston and Natsu peered over at the two laughing people.

"You know that really famous mage that's here? The Salamander?"

Winston cocked his eyebrows at Natsu, who looked just as bewildered as Winston felt.

The second girl laughed. "Yeah. What about him?"

"I hear that he's throwing a party aboard his ship in an hour or so. Everyone's invited. I even heard he personally invited someone name Lucy Heartfilia."

"Really? Why her?"

The words faded away as the two of them walked away, chatting and laughing loudly. Winston immediately stopped drumming his fingers against the table and stood, Natsu immediately following suit.

"That's our guy." Winston said.

"Well what are we gonna do about it?" Natsu asked.

Winston stared out at sea again, trying to ignore the queasiness that suddenly assaulted his stomach.

"We-You need to get on that boat." Winston murmured, a plan already forming in his head.

Natsu gawked. "Me?! Why me?!"

"From my source, that guy's also a fire mage. I can't take him on if I have to dodge everything. It's gonna be too painful. You however…"

* * *

Winston stood on top of the bell tower, resolutely watching Bora's ship out at sea. Earlier, Natsu had snuck aboard the boat and was hopefully carrying out his part of the plan. A fierce wind whipped up around him and he pulled the neck of his coat higher, ignoring the twinge of pain in his side.

Winston grimaced. A chaos art. Fallen Archangel's Spearhead at that.

"_Who knew that Keio had that power?" _he thought to himself. Keio had never shown any ability in that regard before.

Chaos magic was said to have been derived from Zeref's Death Magic. Its power had been severely diluted over the years and it was nowhere near as powerful as it was 100 or 50 years ago. Everyone on thought that all the texts that taught the magic was destroyed hundreds of years ago along with the city in which it was found. How Keio or his former guild master managed to get a hold of one was beyond him.

Winston shuddered. If that magic had been where it was 50 years ago, he had no doubt that he wouldn't be standing here now.

Just then, an explosion rocked the party boat and the frost dragon smirked. A series of smaller explosions continued to rip its way across the ship and left the fancy deck in shambles before a mermaid appeared in a flash of light.

She looked like she was having an argument with two tiny figures on the deck before sweeping the boat to shore in a huge tidal wave. He winced.

"We're gonna get an earful from Master Makarov when we get back." he muttered to himself as he jumped off the roof of the bell tower. As soon as he landed, he took off running in the direction of the wreckage.

Winston skidded to a halt just as an explosion illuminated and engulfed Natsu's silhouette. Lucy's eyes were wide as the flames danced around and continued to eat the platform that Natsu was standing on. She noticed Winston standing there and pointed with a shaky finger.

"You-Your friend's in there." she said.

Winston shook his head. "Don't worry about it."

Her eyes widened. "Wait. What?"

"Don't worry about it." he repeated.

Just then, swirls of fire started getting sucked into a single point inside the raging inferno as Natsu took it all in.

Lucy gaped openly, a look that mirrored the one on Bora's face. "Wha-What just happened?!"

Winston smirked. "Natsu's a Dragon Slayer, a fire dragon slayer if you want to be anal about it."

"Dragon… slayer?" she asked.

Winston nodded. "It's ancient magic. It gives the user the characteristics of a dragon. Which in Natsu's case, those are the features of a fire dragon."

"Iron fist of the Fire Dragon!" Natsu roared.

Lucy and Winston looked up just in time to see Natsu blow Bora into a couple of houses.

"Don't just lay there, do something about this guy!" Bora shouted as he tried to scramble away, his eyes wide with terror.

A couple of Bora's henchmen scrambled out from underneath the wreckage of the boat and began to rush Natsu.

Winston turned to Lucy. "Excuse me for a moment."

He quickly leaped up after the goons, jumping from plank to plank. With one last push he skyrocketed upwards, arms trailing tails of icy energy.

"Frost Dragon's Wing attack!"

With a powerful down sweep of his arms, the henchmen were blown backwards and sent flying in multiple directions.

With the henchmen out of the picture, Winston stalked back to where Natsu stood over the cowering Bora.

"You said you were in Fairy Tail." Natsu growled.

"Y-Yeah. What of it? What are you gonna do about it?" Bora said as he tried to put on a false bravado.

One of the henchmen hauled himself to his feet and called out shakily. "B-Bora! Those two, they're the real thing!"

Lucy's eyes widened as she looked at Natsu and Winston, a snippet of a conversation long forgotten coming back to her.

…_A scarf with a scale like pattern, hair the color of flames, and immunity to fire like the legendary Salamander._

_The calm before the storm, with eyes colder than the coldest mountains, anger capable of being more sudden and explosive than the feared Maelstrom of the seas..._

"Your first mistake: trying to sell women into slavery." Natsu intoned as he heaved Bora high into the air.

"No… please." a timid voice cried out.

"Your second mistake: soiling Fairy Tail's good name for your own ends." Winston finished as he drove an ice-covered fist into Bora's jaw, sending him crashing through several houses and into the church bell.

"Ah… That was fun." Winston said as he stretched only to double over and clutch his side again.

Natsu nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Master Maka- Oh crap, let's get outta here!"

The two dragon slayers tore out of Hargeon faster than a starving jackal chasing after a rabbit. As they rushed past, Natsu reached out and grabbed Lucy. As they pulled her along with them, she saw the Rune Knights in hot pursuit.

"H-Hey! Where are you taking me?!"

Winston said nothing and fired a bolt of icy energy from his hands, which covered the ground in a splash of ice. Unable to stop in time, the Knights slipped and fell, bringing the pursuit to a halt.

Natsu smirked at his partner's handiwork. "You wanted to join Fairy Tail, right? So come on!"

Lucy smiled widely and began to run in earnest without being pulled. "Yeah!"

All of a sudden, Natsu's pleased expression turned into a horrified grimace.

"Oh crap! I forgot Happy's fish!"

* * *

Leave a review and tell me how I did or what I need to work on! Thanks!

-ToS


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